A potential congressional deal on border security funding could mean that 8,300 criminal illegal aliens are released onto the streets, according to a joint letter from two of the biggest law enforcement groups in America.

According to The Daily Caller, the National Sheriffs’ Association and the Major County Sheriffs of America have come out against a rumored deal that would cap the number of detainees that Immigration and Customs Enforcement can hold at one time at 16,500.

In the letter — sent to Senate Appropriations Committee chairman Sen. Richard Shelby, the Alabama Republican, and the committee’s ranking Democrat, Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont — both organizations said that there would be a threat to public safety if Congress were to “place an artificial cap on Immigration and Custom’s Enforcement’s (ICE) detention capacity.”

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“Capping the number of detention beds utilized by ICE not only jeopardizes the integrity of the immigration system, but would cripple ICE’s ability to detain criminal aliens and other aliens who pose a risk to public safety or are a flight risk,” the letter states.

“Any legislation that reduces ICE’s detention capacity would hinder its ability to perform its national security and public safety missions, but also impact local law enforcement’s ability to protect the communities they serve. In order to meet the cap being tentatively proposed by Congress, ICE would be compelled to release thousands of aliens from custody. To achieve the 16,500 adult average detainee population (ADP) caps for the remaining 7 months of the fiscal year, a net reduction of 9,264 adults by the end of this fiscal year would be required.

“Over 90 percent of ICE’s arrests are aliens who have a criminal conviction, have been arrested for a criminal, or have been previously removed. Placing a cap on ICE detention beds will undermine the efficacy of the immigration system and reduce the number of aliens who are removed from the United States.”

If 90 percent of the aliens held by ICE have criminal records besides their immigration status, and 9,264 would have to be freed, that means more than 8,300 criminals would be released to potentially prey on innocent Americans, thanks to Democratic demands.

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According to Fox News, while no details of the proposed deal have been released, a limit on ICE beds seems to be one of the likely concessions from Republicans.

“Democrats have proposed a cap on the number of available beds in ICE detention centers with the goal of forcing the Trump administration to prioritize arresting and deporting only violent criminals and dangerous offenders,” Fox reported.

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Speaking before the deal in principle was reached and at a moment where talks were thought to have broken down, ICE Deputy Director Matt Albence said that the idea of limiting detention capacity would be “extremely damaging to public safety.”

“If we are forced to live with a cap, we will be forced to release criminal aliens in our custody,” Albence said on Monday, according to Fox. “We will be limited in our ability to respond to state and local law enforcement agencies making arrests for these crimes.

“We prioritize our limited resources to the best of our ability, but putting an artificial cap on the ability to detain individuals who pose threats will lead to disastrous results,” Albence added.

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Senate Majority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, also said that such an idea was “not based on reality” and the Democrats are using “an arbitrary number that a couple of lawmakers pulled out of thin air.”

Limiting ICE’s detention abilities has long been a Democrat agenda item — since they think ICE is evil and so is any sort detention of illegal immigrants.

Any sort of border security deal needs to do just that: Engender border security.

Limiting ICE’s ability to keep detainees isn’t going to do that, especially when 8,300 individuals are going to be turned out on the street because, if The Associated Press‘ report is accurate, the Republicans will get $1.4 billion for the wall.

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This isn’t the best deal for the administration or the American people. It’s time for some serious negotiation.

C. Douglas Golden is a writer who splits his time between America and Southeast Asia. He became a staunch right-winger at the age of three: While watching a clip of Ronald Reagan, he told his mother (to her great horror), "Mom, I'm a Republican." Except for a brief, scarring and inexplicable late high-school dalliance with Ralph Nader and his ilk, he's never looked back.
Aside from politics, he enjoys literature (especially British comic novels and modern Japanese lit), indie rock, jazz, spending time with his wife, drinking coffee and watching Formula One and football (of both American and world varieties). He is the proud owner of a very lazy West Highland white terrier and an extraordinary troublesome poodle mix of indeterminate provenance. His proudest accomplishments include reading the entirety of Thomas Pynchon's published oeuvre.